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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

bitterness at the Confederate defeat which he and "many" be-lieved was attributable to bad management and not to GeneralsBen McCulloch, McIntosh, or Sterling Price. After the heart-breaking withdrawal from Kentucky, Gammage wondered whyConfederate forces had gone north in the first place if the Con-federacy lacked the reserves to sustain them in their bold inva-sion. He decided that those were "grave questions which bettermilitary men than I have failed to answer satisfactorily, and Ishall not attempt it."The author attacks the Yankees furiously with Rebel yell andgallant men at every action, and his prose rings with boom ofshotguns, muskets, and artillery. He makes no attempt, however,to follow tactics closely, even those of the 4th Arkansas. Thebattle account and result are in general terms, spiced with anec-dotes about the conduct of his men.Gammage writes with evident warmth of the fraternity be-tween McNair's Arkansas and Ector's Texas Brigade. These troops,braced together so many times under fire, exchanged friendlynicknames, McNair with his "Joshes" and Ector with his "Chubs."For the medical historian there is some discussion of field hos-pital activity. Perhaps most significant along this line are thetables after each action showing killed and wounded, how shot,and remarks as to death or recovery.The last forty-three pages are given over to biographicalsketches of Generals McNair and Ector, other officers, and sur-geons, and to an elaborate muster roll of the 4th Arkansas, show-ing the record of each soldier down to the date of publication.JAMES L. NICHOLSStephen F. Austin State CollegeReluctant Empire: The Mind of Texas. By George Fuermann.New York (Doubleday and Company), 1957. Pp. 70o. Illus-trations and index. $4.00.This thoughtful and mature work relentlessly analyzes theshortcomings of the state of Texas while also providing a rathermodest appraisal of its virtues. George Fuermann, author ofHouston: Land of the Big Rich, has as columnist for the HoustonPost gained experience with and insight into the dissimilar worlds